Polycarbonate is a widely used raw material in many different manufacturing sectors. Due to the hardness and transparency of the material, it can be applied in applications as diverse as automotive windows and optical lenses. It is believed that the demand for polycarbonate will increase significantly in the coming years, requiring improvement in the production of polycarbonate, particularly in terms of efficiency and environmental impact.
Polycarbonate can be polymerized via the reaction of a dihydroxy compound, such as a bisphenol, and a carbonate source, such as a diaryl carbonate. For the industrial production of polycarbonate, where the monomers are not produced onsite, large amounts of these monomers need to be transported to the production facility. The use of a diaryl carbonate has the advantage that it is reactive enough to form polymeric polycarbonate. Furthermore, the reaction of diphenyl carbonate to form polycarbonate phenol is liberated. This phenol can be recycled and used in the production of, for example, bisphenol A or diphenyl carbonate that can be used as main raw material in the polymerization.
Due to the increasing demands on polycarbonate production, the process for production of polycarbonate leaves ample room for improvement, in particular in view of the way the raw materials are introduced.